1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to personal comfort devices and, more particularly, to a portable cushion or pillow headrest.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous personal comfort items exist for providing comfort to various parts or areas of a user""s body. One entire category of such items are those specifically designed for use in conjunction with a user""s head, such as pillows or cushions, headrests, etc. A problem with such heretofore known items is that most are not compact or portable and, thus, are not convenient for use in certain environments such as by passengers on trains, buses or automobiles. Oftentimes such passengers will attempt a comfortable position in which to fall asleep while in transit and, in so-doing, will seek a suitable and comfortable nearby surface or position for resting one""s head. However, and particularly for commuter buses and trains which are not necessarily designed for passenger comfort but more for efficiency in transporting as many commuters as possible, a comfortable headrest is typically not available. Thus, passengers often rest their heads against a hard surface such as a window (if available) or against their hands while supporting their elbows on an adjacent arm rest or the like. None of these positions provide optimal comfort.
Recognizing the need for commuter comfort, several prior art devices have been marketed in the nature of inflatable pillows which, when deflated, are compact in form for convenient transport, as in a briefcase etc. To use such pillows, they must first be inflated by a user blowing air through an inlet valve whereupon, in one common form, the pillow can then be placed in partially encircling relation around the user""s neck to provide head support. However, the need for inflating such devices makes them less than desirable and, in addition, they permit the user""s head to be maintained in only a single, predetermined position namely, with the user sitting upright and the user""s head facing forward.
The present invention is directed to a pillow or cushion for providing support and comfort to a user when a user""s head is resting in a variety of positions and orientations, including propped against the user""s hand. The pillow is compact in size and configured for seating across a user""s palm so that when the pillow is, for example, placed between the user""s palm and the user""s head, a comfortable headrest is provided. The pillow includes an integral securing means for releasably securing the pillow to the user""s hand so that the pillow will maintain its position when the user""s head is partially or orientationally shifted or lifted from the pillow. The securing means is preferably a single-piece strap formed of an elastic band so that it will accommodate different hand sizes, but may also be a two-piece strap that can be selectively adjusted, such as by engagement of hook and loop fasteners. Alternatively, the securing means may include finger sleeves or sheaths for accommodating insertion of individual ones of a user""s fingers to position the pillow in its intended manner across a user""s palm.
In another embodiment, a sound transducer such as a speaker is incorporated within the pillow cushion. The speaker is capable of being electrically connected to an audio source such that when a user""s head is resting against the pillow and the user""s ear is positioned proximate the speaker, the user will hear sound emanating from the speaker.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.